Two men charged following pursuit

CHILLICOTHE - Two men are facing charges after allegedly leading a Ross County Sheriff's Office deputy in a pursuit Monday.

Willis A. Cottrill, 34, was charged with obstructing official business, a second-degree misdemeanor and failure to comply, a third-degree felony. He also received several traffic violations, Chillicothe Municipal Court online records show.

Johnny Penwell, 37, was charged with obstructing official business.

The charges stem from a pursuit Monday afternoon that started when a deputy, who was responding to a burglary call, noticed a suspicious vehicle and attempted to pull the vehicle over.

According to Lt. Mike Preston of the Ross County Sheriff's Office, the deputy noticed the suspicious vehicle parked near a cemetery near Spargursville Road. The deputy turned around to investigate, and the driver took off. The deputy followed the vehicle to Jones Levee Road and on to Baum Hill Road.

Preston said the deputy terminated the chase in the 1700 block of Black Run Road because the speed of the chase was becoming too fast for the road conditions.

An Ohio State Highway Patrol trooper and an Ohio Department of Natural Resources Wildlife officer heard the scanner traffic and were in the area at the time of the pursuit. The trooper and Wildlife officer spotted a female in a vehicle and two males running in the area of the pursuit, according to Preston. The Wildlife officer and trooper detained the two men, allegedly Cottrill and Penwell, on the deputy's charges.

A female was in custody Monday, according to Sheriff George Lavender, but she was not charged in the incident.

Cottrill and Penwell were scheduled for arraignment on the charges in Chillicothe Municipal Court Tuesday.